


Geminate

by carolinecrane



Series: Aftermath [29]
Category: The Brotherhood 2: Young Warlocks (2001)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-05
Updated: 2011-05-05
Packaged: 2017-10-19 01:04:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/195182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The truth is twofold.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Geminate

Marcus is leaning against the lobby wall when Harlan steps off the elevator, hands in his pockets and Harlan half-expects to see a cigarette hanging from his lips. That's how he always remembers Marcus, lips wrapped around a cigarette and too-long hair hanging in his eyes. He remembers the Marcus who always looked nervous, like he was just waiting for the ground to drop out from under him. And Marcus still looks nervous, but it's different this time. There's no hair to hide behind anymore, for one thing, no cigarette and when he looks up and spots Harlan he doesn't look like he wants to run.

He doesn't look that thrilled to see Harlan, either, but Harlan tells himself that doesn't bother him. He's not here to pick things up where they left off, after all; he just wants answers, just wants to know what Marcus has been up to all this time so he can finally stop wondering and get on with his life. And okay, maybe there's a part of him that actually hopes Marcus wants to sell his company, but only because it would be a good business deal. It would impress his father, and that's the only reason he's bothering.

It doesn't have anything to do with the idea of having Marcus around all the time, and even if it did, it's not like Harlan wants him back. They've both moved on, after all; for all he knows Marcus is involved with someone, some fellow computer geek he picked up in Chicago while he was busy making sure his past couldn't catch up with him.

Harlan pretends that thought doesn't make his stomach turn. He pastes on a wolfish grin and stops in front of Marcus, carefully looking him up and down just to watch Marcus squirm. Right on cue he flushes, cheeks burning the same way Harlan's seen a hundred times and he knows from experience how far down Marcus' blush goes. Knows how hard he's trying to stop it from showing, but that always made it even more obvious, and that much, at least, hasn't changed.

He just stands there for another second, watching Marcus struggle not to show just how nervous he is. And he could watch that all night, but Marcus won't just stand there forever, so finally Harlan cocks his head in the direction of the restaurant. "You ready?"

Marcus nods and follows him through the entrance, hands still in his pockets as the hostess leads them to a table in a quiet corner of the dimly lit dining room. He keeps his attention on her while she takes their drink orders, smiling flirtatiously and he tells himself he's not doing it to annoy Marcus. There's no reason Marcus would care; he's the one who walked out on Harlan, he's the one who never looked back and he's the one who made sure Harlan couldn't find him.

"So, Chicago," Harlan says when the hostess finally leaves, turning his attention back to Marcus in time to catch him scowling at the hostess' back. "What the hell were you doing out there?"

"Working, mostly," Marcus answers, but he doesn’t quite meet Harlan's gaze and it's obvious he doesn't want to have this conversation. "Learning to be a computer geek."

Harlan grins at the memory of his own words. "I still say you could've done that right here in California. I've gotta say, Marcus, I'm surprised you came back. It seemed like you were always in a hurry to get the hell out of here."

He means for his words to sting, and when Marcus flinches he doesn't bother hiding a triumphant grin. Besides, it's true, and he doesn't get why Marcus is so touchy about it. If he'd been honest with Harlan six years ago they wouldn't even be having this conversation, but Marcus has been lying to him for so long that Harlan's not surprised when he opens his mouth and lies again.

"That's not true. I didn't…look, Harlan…"

"Forget it," Harlan interrupts, because he wants a lot of things from Marcus, but he doesn't want to hear excuses. He already knows the truth, so he's not going to sit here and listen to Marcus lie to him about why he left. He doesn't want to hear Marcus say something lame like 'yeah, I left, but I was't leaving _you_ '. It's bullshit and they both know it, because he never came back and Harlan's the one who had to track him down. "You know, for awhile I thought maybe you fucked off after Van Owen."

And okay, that sounded a little bitter, but he tells himself it doesn't matter. He doesn't care what Marcus thinks, not now, and…

"Jon's dead."

Okay, so that he wasn't expecting. "What?"

"Jon's dead. Over five years ago now. But that's not why I left."

He's not sure what Marcus is expecting, if he wants Harlan to be sorry Jon's dead or curious about how it happened. He has a feeling he might know, though, and his stomach clenches at the thought of Marcus…but Marcus is fine, he's alive and sitting across from Harlan and whatever happened to Jon was a long time ago.

"Yeah, I know why you left," he says. Up to now he wasn't sure Slayton told him the truth, but when all the blood drains from Marcus' face Harlan knows he did. "Slayton told me all about it."

"So what are you doing here?"

And that's not exactly the reaction he was expecting; he knew Marcus would be surprised, maybe even a little pissed that Matt told him the truth, but he wasn't expecting a total lack of reaction. "What are you talking about?"

"If you know the truth, why'd you come here? Why would you even want to look at me?"

"Jesus, Marcus, you always overreacted to the stupidest shit," Harlan says. "So you were friends with the wrong guy, it could have happened to anybody. It's not your fault that Luc guy went crazy and killed Randall and Alex."

"That's what Matt told you?"

"Yeah," Harlan answers, and now he isn't so sure Slayton told him the truth after all. "He said that Luc kid was obsessed with Van Owen, and when he blew him off for Mary he went crazy. That's what happened, isn't it?"

Before Marcus has a chance to answer their waiter appears, but Harlan waves him off before he can get started on the specials. He's still watching Marcus shift nervously across from him, fingers threaded together on the table and his gaze darting toward the door like he's thinking about bolting. Running out again, and there's no way Harlan's going to let that happen. "Marcus. Is that what happened or what?"

"Yeah," Marcus says, gaze shifting back to Harlan and he can't decide whether or not Marcus looks guilty because he's lying or because he's remembering the way he left. "Yeah. I'm just surprised he told you."

"If it makes you feel any better, I had to beat most of it out of him. He left out the part about Van Owen, though."

"That's because Jon was still alive when I left." Marcus is looking at the door again, but he doesn't look like he's planning to run anymore. Mostly he just looks like he doesn't want to be here, and Harlan doesn't blame him. In fact, he's wishing he'd skipped the dinner invitation and just taken Marcus back to his room; at least that way they wouldn't have to worry about waiters interrupting them, and if they got tired of talking…

But that's not why he's here, and he still hasn't gotten the answers he came to get. "Seems like a stupid reason to run out on me, Marcus. It's not like you had anything to do with all that."

Marcus looks up then, and for a second Harlan gets the feeling he's got it all wrong. Whatever Matt told him might have been true, but he's pretty sure it's only half the story and the important part is the part Matt didn't tell him. Suddenly he's not sure he wants to know, and it's almost a relief when Marcus stands up.

"Look, that was a long time ago. It's great to see you and all, Harlan, but I've gotta go."

Just like that, like he doesn't owe Harlan anything. Like he doesn't owe him the truth, or at the very least, a decent goodbye. He's halfway across the room before Harlan reacts, and by the time he catches up with Marcus he's already out the door. They're standing in the hallway that leads to the hotel lobby, and Harlan knows everybody in the lobby and the restaurant can see them, but he doesn't care. He catches Marcus by the arm, stopping him short and turning him to face Harlan.

"You're not walking out on me again, Marcus. Not until you tell me the truth."

For a second Marcus looks pissed, but as soon as the emotion surfaces it's gone, replaced by an expression so miserable that Harlan wants to take it back. Only he doesn't want to let Marcus go, and if that means forcing the truth out of him, he'll do it. "Matt already told you the truth."

"Fuck you, Marcus, you didn't bail on me and fucking _disappear_ just because Van Owen had a stalker. I looked for you for a whole year, Marcus. I even called your parents."

He can tell Marcus is trying not to react, but he sees the surprise in the other man's eyes anyway. Sees something else too, but he ignores it because he's not going to let himself get caught up in messy emotions. He stopped hoping they could pick up where they left off a long time ago, and now he just wants to know why.

"Okay," Marcus says, tugging his arm out of Harlan's grip and it's only then Harlan realizes how close they're standing. "Okay, I'll tell you the rest. But not here."

Harlan doesn't bother looking around to see who's watching them. He doesn't care, not when Marcus is standing in front of him looking way too much like the teenager who bailed on him three weeks before graduation. Instead he nods and rests his hand on the small of Marcus' back, guiding him toward the bank of elevators at the back of the lobby. He doesn't take his hand off Marcus while they wait; he's not sure if it's because he's afraid Marcus is going to try to run or if it's just because Marcus hasn't pulled away, but either way it feels good to touch him again.

Way too good, and when the elevator dings and opens, Harlan forces himself to let go. He follows Marcus into the car, pushing the button for the ninth floor and leaning against the wall farthest from Marcus. Marcus who's watching him from under long eyelashes, and suddenly Harlan's not so sure answers are the only thing he wants out of this.


End file.
